Employees at Apple supplier Pegatron found to be working more than 60 hours a week

Reseting iPhone
Reseting iPhone (Image credit: iMore/Rene Ritchie)

A new report has surfaced detailing how Apple supplier Pegatron is overworking employees more than the maximum 60 hours a week specified by Apple. Workers at the Shanghai plant need to put in more hours simply to make ends meet, according to the report.

This isn't the first (and nor will it be the last) time one of Apple's suppliers have been pulled into the spotlight over worker conditions. China Labor Watch states that 83% of workers will clock overtime in excess of 80 hours a month, with over 70% of employees working above the limit set by Apple.

From PC World:

"Pegatron Shanghai has 70,000 employees. The report is based mainly on the analysis of data from 1,261 payment stubs collected mostly for the months of September and October last year, described as the busy season for iPhone production at Pegatron. Workers at the factory are said to be paid US$1.82 an hour, and the overtime pay as a percentage of workers' gross wages is as high as 42.4 percent."

While local law demands that monthly overtime hours not exceed 36 hours, it's believed just 1.1% of the 70,000 employees are within the limit. Previously, Pegatron was the target of an undercover BBC investigation, which highlighted this issue.

Rich Edmonds